On October 24, the USAID Economic Resilience Activity (ERA) representatives, led by Cameron Berkuti, USAID ERA Border Crossing Point Director, met with Oleksandr Novytskyi, Head of the State Inspection of Architecture and Urban Planning of Ukraine (DIAM), to discuss the USAID ERA activities, the procedure for obtaining permit documentation, and construction processes.
ERA is modernizing 42 border crossing points on Ukraine’s borders with Moldova, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania to enhance efficiency, accessibility, safety, and logistical potential for cargo export. In its first year, the USAID Project has already commenced urgent upgrades at 29 border crossing points. Currently, 17 major infrastructure improvement projects are in the final design stages and potentially submitted for construction permits after awarding the contracts.
During the meeting, Oleksandr Novytskyi explained the procedure for how to obtain construction permit documentation and the review process, and discussed urban planning reform within which DIAM operates. He stated that design documentation will be submitted to DIA after awarding the construction contract to obtain construction permits. He also mentioned that when a permit is submitted, the electronic EDESSB system automatically provides applicants with prompts regarding potential errors. This allows for corrections at the document submission stage, helping to minimize the number of document rejections. DIAM became a paperless organization in 2021 with 250 staff and specialists nationwide. DIAM currently handles all class consequence 3 (CC3) projects in the country. Construction permits for CC1 and CC2 have been delegated by legislation to local authorities.
Mr. Oleksandr Novytskyi expressed his willingness to send a checklist of items needed to obtain a construction permit by the project owner.
Cameron Berkuti shared his USAID-ERA objectives and multi-prone approach to increase the export capacity of rail and road BCPs. He was impressed with DIAM’s advanced and innovative developments, solutions, and services to reduce corruption and expedite the approval process in the construction industry.